AFP, JERUSALEM: Israeli authorities approved 466 settlement homes in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, settlement watchdog Peace Now said, despite growing international criticism over such projects. The approvals mostly involved new housing units, but a retroactive green light was also granted to…

AFP, NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar: Peace talks between Myanmar’s government and warring ethnic minorities kicked off Wednesday in a bid to end decades of…

AFP, SEOUL: North Korea has executed a vice premier for showing disrespect during a meeting presided over by leader Kim Jong-Un, South Korea said Wednesday, after reports that he fell asleep. The regime also banished two other senior officials, Seoul said, the latest in a slew of punishments Kim is…

AFP, COLOMBO: The Maldives government announced Wednesday it is seeking former president Mohamed Nasheed’s arrest for failing to return to the archipelago to complete a prison sentence after receiving medical treatment in Britain. Nasheed, the Maldives’ first democratically elected president,…

AFP, UNITED NATIONS: Russia on Tuesday questioned the findings of a UN-led investigation that blamed the Syrian regime for chemical attacks, saying they were not conclusive enough to trigger sanctions. Britain and France called for UN sanctions after the investigative panel found that President Bashar…

AFP, MANILA: An activist who campaigned to restore the dignity of India’s low-caste Dalits was among six winners of Asia’s Magsaysay awards…

AFP, SRINAGAR: A teenager was shot dead in Indian-administered Kashmir on Wednesday as thousands of protesters engaged in fresh clashes with security forces after weeks of deadly violence, police and witnesses said. Paramilitary troops fired live rounds as residents demonstrated against an earlier raid…